


even if you run out of breath (have strength, i'm next to you)

by ah_choo (klarkson)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Olympics, M/M, Sports, i don't know a thing about short track i hope it's not trash, model!mingyu, skater!jihoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-20 06:55:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13712304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klarkson/pseuds/ah_choo
Summary: Olympic athlete Lee Jihoon doesn’t have a crush on model Kim Mingyu. And he totally doesn’t freak out when Kim Mingyu wishes him luck. Totally. Not at all.





	1. even if you run out of breath

**Author's Note:**

> this fic started as a [tweet](https://twitter.com/clcbabes/status/963556715689062400), but i couldn't just leave it like this and decided to write it. it was meant to be a short sweet fic written as i ~~procrastinate~~ watch the olympics, but it turned out to be a lot longer than i planned...  
>  big thanks to yuki, who helped me with choosing the sports for the boys :D she's the real mvp here!  
> (title from clc's "to the sky")

**Kim Mingyu** @kmg97x

_The opening ceremony was beautiful! Good luck to our athletes, especially our short track star Lee Jihoon! We’re counting on you! #Fighting_

 

When Chan comes back from the bathroom, still drying his hair with the towel, he is a witness to a really interesting scene in their room. Jihoon is laying flat on his bed, face buried in the pillow. Seungcheol, the hockey player from the next room is crying from laughter with their manager Soonyoung, both leaning on each other, and the ski jumper Wonwoo from another room of their small flat is poking Jihoon’s butt with his finger. Knowing Jihoon, he would snap at him for doing this after 0.3 second, but he doesn’t. Chan furrows his brows. What is going on here?

“Jihoon hyung? What happened?”

Wonwoo looks at him and grins. “His crush wished him luck and he broke down.”

Jihoon suddenly gets up and looks at them over his shoulder.

“He’s not my crush!” he says and then lies back again, but this time taking the pillow and putting it on the back of his head. The only reaction he gets is Soonyoung and Seungcheol laughing even harder and Wonwoo joining them. Chan’s mouth opens on his own in shock.

“Don’t tell me Kim Mingyu-”

“He did!” Wonwoo passes him his phone to show him the tweet.

“Oh my God, I understand now,” Chansays.

Jihoon jumps up on the bed, scaring everyone.

“Do you think he knows I liked all of his pics on instagram?”

“Well, you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of people who like his instagram pictures, so I suppose that no,” Wonwoo calms him down. “But the people who follow you may have caught up on that.”

“Shit.” Jihoon sits cross-legged on the bed. “I haven’t thought about that.”

“I think it’s too late already,” Seungcheol remarks. “But since your senpai noticed you you may have a chance with him.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes. “No one wants chances with anyone. And, well, it’s probably not that deep. The whole country keeps their fingers crossed for us, so…”

“But he didn’t mention me in his tweet,” Chan pouts, sitting on the edge of his bed.

“That’s because I’m better.”

“Hey!” Chan looks at Soonyoung. “Hyung, tell him something!”

The manager just shrugs. “He’s right though.”

Jihoon sticks his tongue out at the younger skater. Soonyoung shakes his head and stands up before clapping his hands a few times.

“Okay, I know we had fun, but Jihoon and Chan need to rest before tomorrow. And Wonwoo, you too are competing tomorrow if I remember correctly,” he points at the man in glasses. “So let’s finish this party for now, and we can continue later.”

All the athletes sigh, but they obediently leave the room, leaving two skaters alone. Jihoon almost immediately goes under the covers, saying “goodnight” to Chan and telling him to go to sleep as fast as possible.

“But will you be able to sleep after what happened, hyung?”

“Shut up!”

***

The truth is, falling asleep is indeed difficult to Jihoon. Just as the excitement from the opening ceremony, marching together with other athletes on the stadium and watching such a beautiful performance, passed, he had to stumble upon Kim Mingyu’s tweet that was _about him_. And, what’s worse, his flatmates were there to witness his (small) mental breakdown.

It’s not like he’s a fan of Kim Mingyu or anything. Can you be a fan of a model? But he really appreciates his beauty. And fashion sense. And aesthetic of his instagram feed. And maybe he appreciates them to the point of having his notifications on… And maybe he went to a fashion show during Seoul Fashion Week once just because he was there…

Okay, but that’s definitely not a crush. No.

He has never thought Kim Mingyu may know his name. Not many people are interested in winter sports, right? But after winning medals in various competitions and being mentioned as the olympic gold medal candidate, Jihoon’s name got a little more recognizable.

For more than one hour he’s tossing and turning into his bed, Chan fortunately sleeping soundly. He’s debating in his head whether he should be excited because Kim Mingyu wrote specifically about him and maybe he actually knows who he is and it’s a genuine wish, or if he shouldn’t, because it’s just a coincidence and it could be any other athlete’s name because Kim Mingyu didn’t pay that much attention to it and he just wanted to show his support to the whole team.

Thanks to his struggles, he doesn’t sleep well that night. Fortunately, the competition starts in the evening, so he has some time to get a grip of himself.

But the first thing Soonyoung says to him when they meet before practice is:

“Did you reply to him?”

Jihoon trips over his own feet, Soonyoung catching him before he falls.

“Be careful!”

“Then don’t do things like this!”

Soonyoung sighs. “Well, forgetting about the fact that he’s your crush, it would be just nice of you if you said thank you to him. You know, people work like that.”

“I don’t,” Jihoon grumbles.

“Yeah, because you’re an ungrateful piece of shit.”

“No, because interactions with people are difficult.”

They get to the ice rink, Jihoon drops his bag and puts the skates on his feet. For the whole time Soonyoung just stares at him with a frown.

“Okay, sorry Jihoon. I shouldn’t have bring that up now. Try to focus on the race, okay?”

The athlete nods shortly and goes to the ice rink, to join his roommate and other skaters from his team for a training. The familiar atmosphere, familiar athletes from the other countries, make him relax and stop thinking about stupidly handsome boys.

One handsome boy to be specific.

Whatever.

***

The feeling of winning is the feeling that nothing compares to. Especially on the olympics. Being the best in the world, with the whole world watching this time, not only those interested, must be really great.

Jihoon smiles, even if he’s devastated by being third and getting the bronze medal.

He should be happy – it’s his first winter olympics, it’s the first time he’s showing himself to the world like that, but he’s not happy with himself. He _could_ have won this. He was so close, but a sudden pain in his thigh made him slower by a tiny bit. And the last 400 meters was a struggle with his own body, not only with the two other skaters. The struggle he lost.

Chan is the first one to congratulate him, and he pretends it’s fine.

“I need to see the physiotherapist,” is the first thing he tells his manager. Soonyoung nods, leaving him to pack his things, going to find Jeonghan.

***

Later that evening, after the ceremony where he got his medal, Jihoon gets to spend some time under Jeonghan’s hands, his soft voice calming him down. Jeonghan not only has magical hands that make your body work like it never did before, but he can also make your soul better.

He may had have a small, tiny crush at Jeonghan when he first started working for them, but thankfully it quickly went away. Otherwise, it would be quite awkward.

Soonyoung is with them too, Jihoon explaining what happened on the ice rink, the manager writing it down in his notebook.

“You’re mad,” Jeonghan notices as he massages his thigh. The traces of pain disappear quickly.

“Yeah,” Jihoon says, puffing his cheeks. “I would win if not for that cramp or whatever it was.”

“Then you should be happy you got any medal and didn’t end up fourth,” Soonyoung notices. “Besides, you should be happy anyway. I know you went for gold but can’t you have some more optimism in you?”

“No.” He answers like a child.

“You should tell him,” Jeonghan says.

“Tell me what?” Frowning, Jihoon looks at his manager. Soonyoung smiles mischievously before whipping his phone out of his pocket.

“You may not be happy with the third place, but Kim Mingyu certainly is.”

“WHAT?” Jihoon starts to get up, but Jeonghan’s hands firmly push him back down on the bed.

“Stay like this or you’ll never ever skate in your life again,” he whispers to his ear. Oh yeah, that could be one of the reasons why Jihoon’s crush on Jeonghan disappeared so quickly. Sometimes he was an angel, but sometimes a devil himself.

“Give me the phone,” Jihoon demands, “Tell me everything. How. Why.”

Soonyoung taps something in his phone before giving it to Jihoon. Under a well known icon and username he sees a video. He taps on it to turn the sound on.

It’s a video from his final race, the last part and the finish. Only a few seconds, and it looks like it was taken by someone who attended the event.

The caption made his heart drop to his stomach.

 

 **kmg9797** _Our Lee Jihoon is third!! Coming to see this was totally worth it!!_

 

“Looks like you have a fan,” Jeonghan says, his voice honey-like again. “Still upset about not winning gold?”

Jihoon doesn’t answer, but no. He isn’t _that_ mad anymore.

***

After going back to their apartment in the Olympic Village, getting congratulated by all the other Korean athletes, he takes a quick selca in the free moment. He almost posts it on instagram with just a simple caption, but after a while he writes one more sentence to it. Before he can think more about it and delete everything he presses the publish button and hides his phone under his pillow, gaining a weird look from Chan.

“So, our maknae, do you want to go somewhere to celebrate with me?” Jihoon asks, putting his hand around Chan’s shoulders.

“It’s almost midnight, hyung, the cafeterias are closed and we can’t get a delivery here.” He sighs, seeing a pout on Jihoon’s face. “But if you want to break some rules we have some cup ramen we can eat?”

“I’m in,” the older says, and hopes he won’t vomit at the thought of what he had just done. Jesus, it’s so stupid.

  
**leewooji** _thank you to everyone who supported me tonight, still can’t believe what happened. also big thanks to @kmg9797 who came to see the race. #pyeongchang_ _2018_ _#shorttrack_

_***_

“Oh my god, Lee Jihoon,” Soonyoung says as they meet the next morning at the cafeteria for athletes and their staff. They don’t compete this day, so they only planned some practice, scheduled a few interviews and were just meant to relax. “Instead of just replying to him you make a separate post? Brave of you.”

“Shut up and eat your breakfast.”

“No but I’m serious, why did you do it?” Soonyoung looks at him curiously.

Jihoon sighs, putting his chopsticks down with a clinking noise of the metal.

“At that time I thought it’s a good idea. I told you interactions with people are difficult!” He says with a blaming tone in his voice. “Anyway. There wasn’t any kind of reaction yet, so. It was probably a mistake.” He picks up the chopsticks again to resume eating, but soon there are other athletes sitting at their table, everyone asking if he got a reply from Kim Mingyu. Even the curling player Lee Seokmin who’s a friend of Wonwoo’s, and Jihoon hasn’t spoken to him once.

“Does everyone already know about...” he starts, but doesn’t know how to finish.

“Your crush on Kim Mingyu?” Seungcheol suggests, wriggling his eyebrows.

“It’s not. A. Crush.” Jihoon grumbles, putting a spoonful of rice into his mouth angrily.

“However you call it. But yeah, probably,” the hockey player answers. “You’re too obvious, Jihoonie. Your crush probably knows it as well.”

Jihoon feels the tips of his ears getting red, but fortunately Chan comes to the rescue.

“I don’t think it’s that obvious to the people who don’t know him personally”, he notices. “So worry not, hyung.” He pats his shoulder and Jihoon sends him a half smile as a thank you. “Of course only if you don’t want Kim Mingyu to know of course.”

“Duh.”

***

Fortunately it’s after the interviews when Kim Mingyu decides to message him.

When Jihoon sees the notification (actually two – one about a new follower and one about a message), he’s at the Olympic Plaza, surrounded by people. His finger trembles above the phone screen, and then he locks it and puts into his pocket. Breathe in, breathe out.

He was meant to go to the store with the merchandise, but now he goes to the McDonald’s to buy a very prohibited coke and fries and sit at the table in the corner, thinking about what should he write back. He would ask his friends for help, but they wouldn’t let him live afterwards, so he has to handle things on his own. Damn.

After eating all the fries and drinking pretty much all of his coke, he finally clicks on the notification and types his answer.

 

**kmg9797**

Hi! I just wanted to congratulate you again! I saw your post and was so surprised!

And sorry for this random message haha, I got a little excited

**leewooji**

thank you! also for coming personally to see the race, it’s not everyday that a celebrity comes to watch you.

**kmg9797**

Nooo no no I’m not a celebrity here, you are! The whole Korea is talking about your medal, it’s amazing!

Oh and I hope I’m not interrupting any celebration or anything

Training?? I don’t know how sports work haha sorry

**leewooji**

don’t worry, it’s my free time now.

and our team will celebrate only once all the competitions are done, so not yet.

**kmg9797**

Ohh I see! So you will participate in the 500m and 1,000m race?

**leewooji**

yes, also in relay, if I don’t injure myself or don’t get really terrible results.

**kmg9797**

Then it’s good that I bought the tickets for all those dates then ^^

**leewooji**

you what

 

**leewooji**

wAIT

I’M SORRY

THAT WASN’T MEANT TO SOUND RUDE I WAS JUSR SURPRISED

just*

 

Jihoon is waiting for the reply.

And waiting.

And his heart is beating fast, and his cheeks are red, and the french fries he just ate were definitely too greasy and the coke too bubbly, making his stomach feel heavy. He puts away his phone and hides his face in his hands. This is it. This is how it ends. It hasn’t even started properly. He got to talk with his not-crush, feeling like a high school girl, like that wasn’t even real.

And of course he had to ruin it by showing his real personality.

Great.

“You’re a disaster, Lee Jihoon,” he mumbles to himself.

“Um, hey,” he hears and rapidly looks up. There’s a boy in a USA national team jacket, with a tray full of food in his hands. “Is everything alright?”

More than the fact that someone is talking to him, surprising is that the boy is speaking Korean. It makes Jihoon’s brain slow down to process what is happening, so he doesn’t answer immediately. The boy gets visibly flustered.

“Sorry for interrupting, but you didn’t look okay so I got worried. I can leave of course.”

“No, it’s fine,” Jihoon assures him quickly. “You can, uh, sit with me if you want.”

His face lights up as he sets his tray on the table and sits in front of Jihoon.

“Cool! I haven’t thought that I’ll meet another athlete here, everyone’s eating the healthy food at that special cafeterias. Oh, and by the way congratulations on winning that bronze medal.”

Jihoon smiles despite the slight confusion.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I know you…?”

“I’m Vernon Chwe,” the boy introduces himself. “Representing the US in snowboard but I’m half Korean actually.”

“So that’s why you can speak Korean,” Jihoon says. Vernon smiles happily and nods.

“But I’m not that good since I don’t use it frequently. I need some practice. But can you tell me why you were so upset earlier? If you want to, of course. No pressure.” The boy takes out his big unhealthy burger out and starts eating. Jihoon shrugs. Does he want to open up to some stranger? Not really. But will he have any other opportunity to talk with someone who’s not making fun of him or judging him?

“Well, let’s say I like one person. And I got to talk with that person, like, on SNS, but I fucked up and they’re not replying,” he says after a while, trying not to spill too much.

Vernon nods slowly, munching on his burger.

“I can understand that. But that may not mean that much you know? I know it can be stressful but. Just chill for a minute and then maybe try reaching out to them again before assuming anything.”

The skater sighs. “You, Americans, always so laid back.” He shakes his head and Vernon laughs a little.

“Don’t think about it for a while, okay hyung? Wait, can I call you hyung? I think you’re older than me. I’m born in ‘98 by the way,” the boy rambles. It’s cute.

“Yeah, you can. Also if you have some problems with Korean I can help you,” Jihoon suggests, internally surprised and actually proud of himself.

“Right! Good thing that you say that, because I’ve been having a problem with this word…”

Jihoon doesn’t even notice how his stress disappears.

***

**kmg9797**

OHMygoD Im SO SORRY MY PHOEn DIED

THAT DIDNT SOIUND RUDE DONT WORRY

Ahhhh I was just so excited too see you since everyone was talking about how amazing are you and that they’re hoping for you to get some medals

So my friend told me to get the tickets

And uh I wasn’t sure in which you would compete so I just… Ordered everything haha

I hope I don’t sound like some crazy fan haha

 

“What’s with him again?” Wonwoo asks, pointing at Jihoon curled up on the bed, hugging his phone to his chest.

“Kim Mingyu messaged him from what I know,” Chan explains.

“Oooh.” Wonwoo smiles and sits besides Jihoon. “Can I see?”

“What the hell? Of course no,” the skater says and kicks him lightly.

“I think we should take his phone from him,” the youngest says. “He’s a mess.”

“Yeah,” the ski jumper nods in agreement. “What if he fails in his next competitions because of that boy?”

“Hey, you don’t have a right to say so,” Jihoon remarks. “You didn’t even qualify to the actual competition yesterday and you were one of only seven people who did so. _Seven_.”

Wonwoo pouts.

“Not my fault that the wind was playing hide and seek with us for the whole day.”

“Whatever, loser.”

Jihoon unlocks his phone and hiding the screen from the curious stares of his friends, he types the reply. (And retypes it several times before sending, but Kim Mingyu doesn’t have to know that.)

 

**leewooji**

no it’s totally fine!! I was worried for a sec but it’s okay

also thank you for your support, I really appreciate that

i’ll look for you at the audience on tuesday

***

Meetings of their group of friends by the breakfast table start to become a tradition, as the next morning all of them sit together again.

“So Wonwoo told me Kim Mingyu messaged you yesterday,” Seokmin starts, and Jihoon rolls his eyes.

Or maybe their breakfasts became a gossip club with Lee Jihoon as their main topic. Fortunately, sudden voice screaming “Hyuuuung!” made everyone focus on someone else for a while.

“Can I sit with you?” Vernon asks as he jogs up to their table.

“Sure,” Jihoon nods, gaining questioning looks from everyone. Vernon quickly introduces himself, and Jihoon’s friends do the same. They’re asking Vernon about the language, if he’s ever been to Korea before et cetera, and it’s going on fine until-

“So, tell us Vernon,” Soonyoung says, leaning on the table. “Do you know about Jihoon’s crush on Kim Mingyu?”

“SOONYOUNG NO,” Jihoon screams.

“Soonyoung yes!” Wonwoo and Seokmin say in unison, high-fiving each other right after that.

Vernon looks at them with confusion.

“What does a ‘crush’ mean?”

Soonyoung smiles mischievously.

Jihoon hates his friends.

***

**kmg9797**

Hey! How is the training going?

**leewooji**

good

how’s the modeling going

**kmg9797**

Haha

Good too

But it’s probably easier than your job

Honestly I would probably slice my fingers off if I tried speed skating

Or. Skating at all

**leewooji**

nah it’s not that dangerous

**kmg9797**

Emphasis on THAT

**leewooji**

yeah

comparing with luge or skeleton it’s very safe actually

you wouldn’t want to hear stories about that

**kmg9797**

You’re right I don’t

Okay I need to go back to work

Talk to you later!!

**leewooji**

sure

**kmg9797**

AND SEE YOU ON TUESDAY HEHE CANT WAIT

**leewooji**

...me too

 

Jihoon doesn’t know how did that happen, but somehow they ended up talking on daily basis. Not all the time, but… quite a lot.

It was a weird feeling, but he is slowly getting accustomed to it.

And despite all his friends claiming they’re supportive, actually Vernon is the supportive one. Bless that boy, too pure and too good for this world.

It’s the most important time now, on the olympics, in between his races, and he should be focused only on skating, without any distractions, but he can’t help looking at his phone from time to time, his heart racing a little every time there’s a message from the model.

He’s a lost case.

***

Jihoon doesn’t look at the spectators before the competition. He focuses on the ice, on the feeling of his muscles working under his skin, slight pain in his lungs.

Only after the race that qualified him for the 1,000m quarterfinal he gets brave enough to look at the audience. In the sea of people he finally notices a tall figure standing among the sitting ones, waving excitedly.

Jihoon feels his heartbeat getting faster, maybe even faster than when he was racing. He smiles slightly and waves shyly.

Chan running into him and almost making them fall over ends this moment.

“Jihoon-hyung, did I see correctly? Is our ship sailing?” The younger asks.

“I’m gonna slice your throat with my skate,” Jihoon replies, and goes off rink to leave it to the women who will be competing next.

But his heart doesn’t want to stop.

***

**kmg9797**

What are you doing on lunar new year?

**leewooji**

training

**kmg9797**

Oh :(

So no rice cakes?

**leewooji**

well

I think the coach will let us eat one or two

how about you?

**kmg9797**

Nice :D

I’m going home :D

You won’t miss your family?

**leewooji**

a little

but i’m used to it

we always have some tournaments overseas on new year so

at least were spending it in korea this time.

**kmg9797**

Oooh right

By the way I was thinking

Can we meet after the Saturday competition?

 

“No, you can’t,” Soonyoung says, leaning over Jihoon’s shoulder to look at his phone. “There will be some interviews after, whether you win or lose. _And_ it could be a difficult to explain the problems with walking to the coach, right?”

Jihoon chokes on his coffee.

“Soonyoung, you’re so heartless, let him get that dick,” Seungcheol says.

“Talking about dicks over breakfast?” asks Jeonghan, making his way to sit by the hockey player. “Good thing that everyone around us is a foreigner.”

“Yeah,” Jihoon mumbles.

“But also you should consider that our Jihoonie doesn’t have to be the one to have problems with walking,” Jeonghan remarks, making Jihoon blush in no time.

“We are _not_ talking about that here.” Skater’s phone lights up with a message and he has to hide it in his pocket so his friends won’t see it anymore.

“Do you really think he could be a top?” Seokmin asks, ignoring the older athlete.

“Well, as speed skaters we have to be quite strong...” Chan muses.

“Oh my god, I hate you all.”

“Hmm, really? He doesn’t look st-”

“Yes Seokmin, more than you,” Jihoon snaps. “Speed skating is an actual sport, unlike your iron throwing.”

“Hey, curling a sport of strategy, like chess! And they’re _stones_ , not irons. Also sweeping takes a lot of strength!” Young curler tries to be defensive.

“Whatever, chess is not a real sport either.”

“At least it’s not prohibited for us to drink alcohol during the game.”

Some older Korean athletes passing by their table shake their heads, whispering “those youngsters” under their breaths.

After a lot of teasing by his friends, Jihoon can finally reply in peace when he’s on his way to the gym.

 

**kmg9797**

It’s fine if you don’t want to

I was just suggesting haha

No pressure

**leewooji**

i’m sorry but I can’t, my manager told me it’s not a good timing

but after the olympics

or just after all short track competitions

i’d be more than happy :)

**kmg9797**

D:

**leewooji**

?

**kmg9797**

It’s the first time you’ve sent me an emoji

I’m touched

It’s an honor

**leewooji**

...how do i react to that

**kmg9797**

Send me more emojis :)

**leewooji**

not my thing actually

**kmg9797**

:(

**leewooji**

fine

:)

**kmg9797**

:D

***

Their whole speed skating team got together for a small Lunar New Year celebration after their practice. The coaches even let them eat more than two rice cakes, and the traditional rice cake soup. It was nice, to sit with everyone and talk freely, the older athletes giving tips to youngers and all.

Jihoon tries to hide the fact that he’s checking his phone every few minutes, waiting for some message from Mingyu. There’s nothing, and it should be understandable, because he’s spending time with his family, but Jihoon is growing impatient. It’s pathetic, really, or that’s what he thinks, but those few days of talking with someone he really likes (and haven’t ever thought that he would even interact with him once) made him depend on those chats.

**leewooji**

hi

**kmg9797**

D:

**leewooji**

what again

**kmg9797**

You messaged me first

This is a whole new level of our friendship

**leewooji**

friendship?

**kmg9797**

Oh can I say that?

I thought we got close…

**leewooji**

sure

**kmg9797**

Cool! :D

**leewooji**

:)

so how are you spending your time

**kmg9797**

Very nice

I ate so much of my mom’s cooking ugh I’m so full

**leewooji**

can’t relate

**kmg9797**

:(

Uh my mom wants me to help so I have to go

Bye!

**leewooji**

bye

have fun

 

“What happened?” Vernon asks Jihoon. They invited him to their room, as Vernon didn’t have an occasion to celebrate the Lunar New Year, but instead of fun atmosphere, Jihoon is sitting sadly on his bed, doing pretty much nothing.

“He called us friends,” Jihoon says.

“Isn’t it a good thing?” Vernon asks in confusion.

“Yeah probably,” Jihoon sighs. “But I still hoped for more. And that sounded like, I don’t know, he’s straight or something.”

Vernon pats Jihoon’s back.

“It’s 2018, no one is one hundred percent straight anymore hyung. Have faith.”

Jihoon sends him a crooked smile.

“Thanks kid. You’re a better friend than the rest.”

***

The 1,000m race makes Jihoon nervous not only because Mingyu will be watching, but also it’s his chance. He didn’t make it in the 1,500m race, but shorter distance should be better for him.

He has to focus, which is a little hard under this whole pressure. He haven’t specifically look for the articles on the internet or anything, but he knows everyone wants him to win. His coach, his teammates, his parents, the whole Korea.

And Kim Mingyu. But that’s totally not important.

Before the quarterfinal, he takes a deep breath and tries to block everything, leave only him and the ice. His body that becomes one with his skates, allowing him to slide smoothly and quickly. Faster than the others.

The fastest in the world.

***

The feeling of winning can’t be compared to anything else in the world. Especially winning an olympic gold.

And Jihoon finally knows what it feels like.

Chan is hugging him tightly after the final race, just as it was confirmed that only by mere miliseconds, but Jihoon was the fastest. The other skaters from their team congratulate him, and those who lost also want to kindly shake his hand.

The audience is going crazy, the euphoria of the skaters multiplied hundreds of times.

Waving with a smile to the people who supported him, he spots the one who’s particularly excited. With a small laugh, he waves directly at Kim Mingyu, and it may be the adrenaline still in his veins, or the euphoria of winning the gold medal, but he also blows him a kiss. Because why not.

Even Soonyoung gets on ice and almost tackles Jihoon to the ground.

“We’re drinking tonight,” he whispers to his ear.

***

After all of the interviews and the ceremony, where he got the medal, Soonyoung brings a box of soju bottles to his and Chan’s room, so they can celebrate properly. They don’t get smashed, of course, but being tipsy after so long is nice.

Jihoon forgets about the existence of his phone, and remembers about it only a few hours later, when all of his friends already got back to their rooms, and he’s waiting for Chan to finish showering so he can go wash himself too. He’s surprised it hasn’t blow up with all those notifications, people congratulating him all over his SNS. He replies to his friends and family, and posts a selca with the medal he took earlier on his Instagram. Then he scrolls through his feed, finding out that Mingyu posted a selca himself earlier, just before the competition.

Still feeling the slight buzz from the alcohol, he wants to send it to Soonyoung, forgetting a little that he’s still denying his crush on the model.

  
**kmg9797** _Before short track 1,000m_ _!! Lee Jihoon, #fighting!!_ _(photo by.THE8)_

 

**leewooji**

[you send a post by @kmg9797]

oh my god look at him how can a person be THAT beautiful it should be like illegal or something ugh can he marry me already

**kmg9797**

Well

**leewooji**

OH SHIT

WIAt

WAIT NO

I DIDNT MEAN TO SEND IT TO YOU

OHMYGOD

**kmg9797**

But thank you...?

**leewooji**

NO PLEASE IGNORE IT

AND DONT TALK TO ME EVER AGAIN MAYBE

**kmg9797**

???

Jihoon?

But why????

***

Jihoon fails the qualifications to the 500m race.

It’s stupid, but he trips over his own feet and lands on the ice, thankfully gaining only a few bruises. His friends are trying to comfort him, saying he’ll only have to worry about the relay final instead of both that and 500m final.

Chan qualified for the quarterfinal, and Jihoon tries to be happy for him, but he’s too busy being mad at himself for losing because of such a stupid thing.

He has been ignoring Mingyu’s messages for the last few days. He’s too embarrassed. Vernon is telling him to check them, because if Mingyu’s still messaging him that has to mean that he doesn’t hate him or anything, but he just can’t face the younger now. Even online.

“Hyung, I’m sure he doesn’t hate you. He’s probably worried now. Just make some excuse that you were drunk,” he almost begs him. They’re at the McDonald’s again, breaking the rules, but Jihoon doesn’t compete until Thursday, so it’s probably okay.

“But it’s lame.”

Vernon rolls his eyes and steals one of Jihoon’s fries.

“Give me your phone.” Jihoon looks at him suspiciously, so he explains. “I will check what he wrote and tell you.”

“But he will see I saw it.”

“Yes, but I can help you with replying after that. What do you think?”

Jihoon is still considering this, but maybe it’s actually a good idea?

“Come on hyung, if we finish this today, you’ll relieve your stress. And be better on the rink. We all know you failed because of this.”

“Okay,” Jihoon gives him his phone with a sigh. “But don’t type anything on your own, okay?”

Vernon smiles. “Relax, hyung, I’m not your manager.”

 

**kmg9797**

Jihoon

:(

Why aren’t you replying

 

**kmg9797**

Jihoon? I’m getting worried

 

**kmg9797**

If you’re embarrassed about what you wrote then don’t be

Wait that sounds stupid, never mind

I mean that is a compliment, right? So thank you haha

And, well

I think it’s too early for marriage

But I think dating would be okay…

 

**kmg9797**

Wait what if you didn’t mean it like this

I’m sORRY PLEASE DON’T TELL ANYONE I’M GAY

And don’t hate me please TT

 

“So? What is he saying?” Jihoon asks curiously, seeing Vernon’s amused expression.

“At first he was worried, then he said that it’s too early for marriage but he’s fine with dating, and three hours ago he started panicking because he’s gay and thinks you’re not.”

“WHAT?” He leans over their greasy meals to snatch the phone from Vernon’s hands. He reads the messages once, twice, and then he keeps staring at them. “Oh god, what do I do now?”

Snowboarder leans back on the chair, crossing his arms on his chest, pretending to think hard.

“Maybe tell him the truth? That you like him?”

“Noo, there’s no way I would-”

“Jihoon. Hyung. He basically told you he wants to date you. Just tell him the same.”

“But-”

“No buts, hyung. Do it. Be brave. You’re a gold medalist, god damn it, nothing can stop you!”

Jihoon bites his lip and starts typing.

 

**leewooji**

let’s meet after the olympics.

**kmg9797**

You’re alive!!!

Wait should I be happy

**leewooji**

i think so

**kmg9797**

Nice!!!

So why do you want to meet?

**leewooji**

:)

**kmg9797**

This looks creepy

 

**kmg9797**

Why aren’t you answering again I’m getting nervous D:

**leewooji**

sorry, my friend wanted something from me.

you were talking about dating

I think we should settle this in person.

**kmg9797**

Oh!!!!!

Should I worry

**leewooji**

I told you already not to

**kmg9797**

:D

**leewooji**

:)

***

“You’re like a new person, Jihoon,” the coach notices at the practice. “This is one of your best performances. What happened?” The man asks.

Jihoon just shrugs with a slight smile and tries to ignore Chan whispering to Soonyoung “he’s gonna get that dick, that’s why”.

Talking about the feelings is hard for Jihoon, so he averted the topic when Mingyu started texting him again. They would talk about Jihoon’s training or Mingyu’s work, but every time Mingyu hinted that he would want to talk about _dating_ or other stuff, he changes the topic.

But he’s happy with how the things are going. And, apparently, his good mood is showing on the rink too.

“Whatever it is, keep that up, and let’s hope for a gold again in the relay,” the coach tells him.

***

  
**leewooji** _training training_ _#pyeongchang2018_

 

**kmg9797**

[user send you a post by @leewooji]

WHY YOU HAVE TO BE SO CUTE

ALSO WHY AREN’T YOU WEARING SOCKS

**leewooji**

WHY ARE YOU YELLING

I AM NOT CUTE

**kmg9797**

When I think about it now

How tall are you?

**leewooji**

i’m not telling

**kmg9797**

Okay, I’m gonna find out myself

The internet will tell me the truth

**leewooji**

oh no

**kmg9797**

YOU

ARE

**leewooji**

no

**kmg9797**

SMOL

!!!

**leewooji**

yes thank u mr kim for telling me that.

I didn’t realize until now.

**kmg9797**

Hey I didn’t want to sound rude:(

I’m sorry:(

But I can’t wait to hug you once I finally meet you hehe

**leewooji**

who’s saying I will let you do this

**kmg9797**

:(

**leewooji**

okay you won

**kmg9797**

:D

And speaking of winning

Good luck tomorrow!!

I will be there and scream my lungs out for you!!!!

Wait didn’t that sound bad

**leewooji**

a little

but I don’t mind

**kmg9797**

:D

***

They don’t get the gold in relay.

They get silver, and Chan looks like the happiest person on earth.

“We won the medal, hyung!” He keeps jumping around Jihoon, who’s laughing happily. He can already imagine all those reporters, all those interviews Soonyoung is scheduling now for him, the skater who got three different medals while debuting on winter Olympics. It will be tiring, but for now it’s not important.

His team may be second, but he isn’t upset about not being first anymore. The team spirit is really something.

And Kim Mingyu, waving the banner with his name, is also nice. (Very nice, but he wouldn’t say that to his friends, they wouldn’t let him live.)

Chan takes him by his hand to go around the ice rink once again, showing finger hearts to the audience. It’s silly, but he’s happy he could help this kid getting his first medal. (Well, it’s not like he got his own first medal that long ago either, but still.)

He also feels relief. After all of these stressful days, it’s finally over. The olympics finished for him, the next one four years away. He did well, _really_ well. He’s satisfied.

He’s happy.

***

The last three days until the closing ceremony are the longest three days ever. All of their competitions finished already, so they’re free to do anything they want in Pyeongchang (wisely, of course).

But Mingyu is working in Seoul again, and Jihoon doesn’t know if he’s more excited or scared while thinking about meeting him soon. Because Mingyu’s messages are getting more and more brave, and he doesn’t know how to respond to that.

He responds anyway, but the struggle is real.

“You’re no fun anymore, Jihoon,” Soonyoung says as they’re looking around the merchandise shop. “The things with your crush started going well and…”

“And what, you can’t make fun of me?” Jihoon looks at him and shakes his head. “Poor boys.”

Soonyoung pouts.

“Hey, but you didn’t say he’s not your crush!”

“I thought you know it already.”

The manager sighs, but doesn’t say anything more about that. Instead he goes to the shelf with some stupid gadgets like fidget spinners, and tries to put some in the basket Jihoon’s carrying.

“If you want to buy them, do it yourself,” the skater says pushing them back to Soonyoung’s chest. “I’m trying to find something that’s actually a cool souvenir.”

“What about your three medals and Soohorang plushies you got with them? Aren’t they enough?” The manager teases.

“You wish you had all those medals,” Jihoon replies and sticks out his tongue at him. “Now help me choose and tell me which of these mugs would my mom like better.”

***

When those three days finally pass, it seems like those two weeks of olympics were nothing. The time is weird, really. The closing ceremony is a big sight, and then it’s over, but Jihoon doesn’t feel very different.

They have some time until the next tournament, and most of their teammates are going to see their families, to celebrate the belated Lunar New Year together. But instead of getting tickets to Busan, Jihoon is booking a hotel in Seoul for two nights, his fingers trembling slightly.

And then, before he can notice where the time went, he’s waiting for Kim Mingyu at his hotel lobby, wearing his best clothes, so different from the track suit he was wearing all the time in Pyeongchang. His leg is shaking on his own, and the woman at the desk is looking at him weirdly, maybe recognizing him.

And there he is, walking in, looking like a model he is, Kim Mingyu.

Jihoon gets up and waits for him to get closer. His heart is beating fast again, but this feeling is _nothing_ like when he saw him at the audience.

When Mingyu stands in front of him, his stupidly handsome smile mere centimeters away, Jihoon feels like fainting at the spot. He has to get a grip of himself.

“Hey,” he says, and the taller boy’s smile gets even brighter than before.

“Hi,” Mingyu replies, and after a second he just simply leans down to hug the athlete. It’s a surprise, but Jihoon shyly hugs back. He feels the rumble in Mingyu’s chest when he chuckles. “I told you I’ll hug you when we meet.”

“And I told you I’m fine with that,” the smaller boy replies.

Mingyu lets go of him, his smile beaming, and gestures to the door.

“Let’s go.”

Jihoon nods and starts walking beside him, hiding his fists in his jacket pockets, fighting the urge to reach for Mingyu’s hand and hold it. They both need to protect their image, unfortunately.

“Where are we going?” he asks after a while of walking, Mingyu leading him through the streets.

“One of my favorite cafes,” he explains. “Not many people know about it so it’s a good place to talk. And there’s a low possibility that someone would recognize any of us.”

He nods again, and after a few minutes they’re there.

This cafe doesn’t resemble those popular ones, decorated aesthetically with flowers, offering different kinds of funny fusion coffees. It’s rather ugly, but the smell of coffee in the air is nice, and besides them there’s only one student focused on her notes.

“I used to work here when I attended high school,” Mingyu says after ordering their drinks. Jihoon must have been looking at him funnily when he was joking with the ahjumma working there.

“Good memories?”

“Yeah.” Mingyu nods. “Once I dropped a whole tray of dishes and cups, and the ahjumma immediately fired me, but then called me not even an hour later saying that she needs me anyway.”

Jihoon laughs, and Mingyu takes it as a good sign, so he starts telling him some various funny stories from the time he worked in the cafe. Jihoon can’t believe that he gets to sit in front of him and admire him in person, not only on his phone screen. Incredible.

Suddenly Mingyu stops talking and takes out his phone to take a picture of Jihoon.

“Smile!”

“What are you doing?” Jihoon tries to sound upset, but he can’t help a laugh escaping his mouth.

“You looked beautiful like that,” Mingyu replies simply, making Jihoon blush and avert his eyes instantly.

“You’re the one saying that.”

“Hey.” Jihoon looks up again at Mingyu. His expression is softer than before, and there’s something warm in his eyes. “You wanted to talk, right?”

“Yeah,” he confirms, “but it’s harder than I thought,” he admits with an awkward chuckle.

“Then let me talk, okay?” Mingyu asks, and after Jihoon’s curt nod he starts. The older takes the cup of coffee in his both hands, not knowing what to do with them. He feels nervous again. “I will be honest. With all this hype for Olympics I found some articles about our best athletes, and when I saw your pic for the first time I was like. Enamoured or something.” He laughs slightly, but Jihoon can see he’s nervous too. “That’s why I got interested and bought all those tickets for the competitions. I never imagined you would notice me or anything. But when we started talking, I really started to like you. And I know it was a short time, but I _really_ like you. And I was serious about the dating thing.”

Jihoon doesn’t look at him for the last two sentences. He stares at his coffee, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. How honest he can be?

“But of course I will understand if you don’t want this.”

“But I want this,” Jihoon admits quietly before taking a deep breath and finally looking Mingyu in the eye. “It’s embarrassing, but I liked you for a long time now. I mean, I found your instagram account one day and- well, you can see by that message I accidentally sent to you instead of my friend. And when you messaged me, it was so amazing? Unbelievable, really. And you’re so sweet, and great, and- I don’t know what I’m saying anymore.” He looks down on his coffee again with a slight chuckle. “But yes. I want to date you. Very much so.”

When Mingyu doesn’t reply for a longer while, Jihoon looks at him nervously. He knows he might have sounded like some crazy fan or something, but if Mingyu was honest with him, he needed to be honest too.

But actually Mingyu isn’t mad or weirded out or anything. And if he is, he’s hiding it perfectly behind the look full of admiration he’s giving Jihoon. The older smiles.

“So, will you be my boyfriend, Kim Mingyu?” He asks, feeling like a high school girl again, asking her crush to accept her feelings.

“Do I really need to answer this question?”

***

  
**kmg9797** _Celebrating three medals with the brightest star @leewooji :D_

***

Two weeks later, there’s a tournament again. The emotions from the Olympics still haven’t disappear from the speed skaters’ hearts, but they have to be ready to race on the ice again.

It’s not bad, of course. Jihoon loves ice skating; that’s why he chose to do it for living.

But getting back to work also means getting back to dealing with his stupid friends on the daily basis. The only good thing is that both Wonwoo and Seungcheol got their own teams to join, so they don’t pester him in person. (Only on the internet.) Living together for two weeks brought them closer, and even if Jihoon misses them, he won’t admit it.

“Messaging your crush?” Soonyoung asks when Jihoon is focused on his phone while they’re on the bus, going to the place of their tournament.

“He’s not my crush,” Jihoon groans, and he can’t help adding a little more quietly, with a slight pink tint to his ears and cheeks: “He’s my boyfriend.”

The sound Soonyoung and Chan make doesn’t sound human, and the bus driver looks over his shoulder at them, very annoyed.

Oh well.

***

_**Model Kim Mingyu, a successful fan.. Friendship with triple medalist, Lee Jihoon** _

__

_[Sports Donga] Kim Mingyu, a popular model, has been gaining attention among netizens as a so called “successful fan”. During the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics we could observe him on SNS being a simple fan supporting the short track speed skater Lee Jihoon, later turning into a mutual friendship from the athlete._

_Kim Mingyu and Lee Jihoon seem to be in a really good relationship, not only interacting on SNS. Yesterday they were spotted together by a fan of Kim Mingyu. The fan said in their post that both men seemed really relaxed together and close._

_Lee Jihoon is a short track sensation who scored bronze and gold medals individually, and silver as a team. Kim Mingyu was recently chosen as the face of The Saem and starred in the newest Coca-cola CF._

_ 152 comments _

_sunnyeugene: I want to be a successful fan too TT [+254, -15]_

_hgw122425x: This is so heart warming… [+165, -6]_

_babyxx75: They look so cute together! [+142, -21]_

_princehosh: They’re probably fucking as we speak [+2, -321]_


	2. [bonus 1]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a glimpse into jihoon and mingyu's relationship a few months after olympics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO i wanted to write smut BUT I'M SO BAD AT IT i decided it's better not to... sorry to disappoint yall :( but here, have something that sweet and fluffy but also on the mature side. hope you like it anyway!

Jihoon drops the keys on the floor as soon as he lets them both into his flat. Mingyu presses him to the wall even before they close the door properly, lips already on Jihoon’s, hands under the smaller boy’s shirt. Jihoon giggles between the kisses, smile getting wider.

“What is it?” Mingyu asks, pulling back to look at his boyfriend. “Are you this happy to finally sleep with your celebrity crush?”

Jihoon feels his cheeks reddening. “Shut up,” he mumbles, pulling Mingyu down by his neck to kiss him again. There’s a thought in his mind about murdering his friends, who tease him all the time about him being a _successful fan_ , but it’s quickly forgotten when Mingyu grips his thighs and lifts him up, Jihoon making surprised little yelp at that movement.

The taller boy starts kissing Jihoon’s jaw, going lower to his neck. Jihoon leans his head back on the wall, giving him better access, and holds on to his shoulders.

Mingyu’s hands on his thighs move up a little, making him cross his ankles behind his back.

“Nice thighs,” the taller notices before starting to make a hickey on Jihoon’s neck.

“Thanks,” Jihoon pants, embarrassed about how easy it was for Mingyu to bring him to this state. “They won me that gold medal, you know.”

Mingyu bursts out laughing, hiding his face in Jihoon’s neck. The latter, however, doesn’t think of it as that funny, fully aware of the bulge in his pants being pressed to Mingyu’s stomach.

“I appreciate you understanding my humor but could you move forward already?” He says, sounding a little annoyed. Thankfully, Mingyu quickly gets serious and pulls back to look at Jihoon. There are still traces of smile in his expression, but now it looks more determined.

“Where’s the bedroom?” he asks simply.

“That door on the left,” Jihoon answers, and soon he’s being carried there, surprised at how Mingyu doesn’t just throw him on the bed, but lays him down softly. His chest feels all warm and fluffy inside. Gosh, he’s so soft for that boy, it’s embarrassing. However that feeling quickly disappears, because Mingyu is kneeling down above him, unzipping Jihoon’s pants and pulling them down with his underwear. Jihoon removes his t-shirt, now fully naked. He smirks, seeing Mingyu’s expression.

“Like what you see?”

The younger nods slowly.

“Then how about letting me admire you too?”

As Mingyu gets undressed, Jihoon is surprised at how confident he is. He has never thought he would act like that on his own, but Mingyu makes him feel at ease.

“Did you ever do a naked photoshoot?” he asks as he sees Mingyu in his full naked glory. He shakes his head.

“Only that one with unbutonned shirt. Why?”

“It’s good to know this view is all mine.”

Mingyu chuckles and leans down, hands on both sides of Jihoon’s head, kissing him passionately.

“I don’t recognize you, Lee Jihoon,” he says after breaking a kiss when the smaller boy jolts his hips up to get some friction from grinding their erections together. “You? Suddenly not shy? Especially in bed?”

“Shut up, I know I have a good body,” he says. “And there’s no point of being shy with you.”

The look Mingyu gives him is full of adoration and maybe something even more.

Jihoon feels the same.

***

He wakes up because it’s too hot, Mingyu’s long limbs all over him don’t help. He makes himself comfortable, taking Mingyu’s hand and leg off him carefully, trying to not wake him up. As he doesn’t want to get out of bed yet, he just settles on leaning on his elbow and looking at his sleeping boyfriend.

It still feels unreal sometimes, this whole relationship. Maybe because it’s still based on messages and calls, as they both have their own schedules that almost never overlap. When Jihoon’s abroad, for some competition or special training, Mingyu’s working in Korea. But when Jihoon comes back, suddenly it’s Mingyu who’s got photoshoots in the US or Europe. And if they’re finally both in Seoul, it’s either Jihoon that has to go to college – even the Olympic medalist has to get his degree – or Mingyu is suddenly shooting some variety show, and they meet in a hurry, both usually tired.

But honestly, even if their dates are short, they’re always memorable. Like that one time when they simply went to watch the movie and it was so boring they just ditched it and went for a walk by the river. Or that time when Jihoon failed one exam and Mingyu simply invited him for a homemade dinner. Even one time they wanted to play laser tag, but their friends were jealous so they gathered and a date changed to a reunion of some sort.

It makes them both anxious, too. Long distance relationships are fragile, and what if one day they’ll just… fall apart?

But now Mingyu is there in Jihoon’s bed, looking like a young god in the soft morning sunlight gracing his skin, his hair all messy but it’s still not enough to make him look bad. Jihoon sighs, trying not to think about the L word, but damn, it’s really hard when his heart is doing all those flips whenever he thinks of or sees Mingyu.

Said boy finally starts waking up, slowly opening his eyes and stretching like a cat before he turns his head to look at Jihoon and give him the most beautiful smile he’s ever seen.

“Good morning,” he says, voice raspy. “How do you feel?”

“Okay. You?”

“Fantastic,” he grins and Jihoon chuckles.

“Good to know.”

“What are we doing today?” Mingyu asks, putting his arm on Jihoon’s waist and bringing him closer.

“We can be lazy,” the older answers, “watch something on Netflix, order food, things like this. I cleared my schedule.”

“What about your daily training?” The taller boy questions with worry. “If you need to do it I’m fine with it.”

“Don’t worry.” Jihoon pats his shoulder. “Sometimes I should lessen physical activity. And, well, shouldn’t sex be enough?” He asks, cocking his eyebrow.

“I seriously don’t recognize you, hyung,” Mingyu says before leaning in for a kiss, but Jihoon moves away and puts his hand on his boyfriend’s lips.

“Let me brush my teeth first. And I suggest you to do the same.”

Mingyu rolls his eyes but moves to get up from the bed, only to be tugged down by Jihoon again.

“Not now,” he says. “Let’s cuddle for a bit, okay?”

With a low chuckle, Mingyu hugs Jihoon tightly, the smaller boy’s head buried in his chest. He kisses the top of his head, and Jihoon sighs with content.

Jihoon wishes they could spend every morning like that.


	3. [bonus 2]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jihoon, above all, is still mingyu's number one fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if it's any good (at least i hope so) but i HAD to write this when i saw mingyu's dazed photoshoot to let out my emotions. enjoy!

Jihoon gets out of bed as soon as his alarm goes off – a habit of his, because he knows if he stayed at least three seconds there, he’d fall asleep again. But before he can do anything else, Chan bolts out to the bathroom, screaming.

“I’m showering first!”

“Okay, whatever,” Jihoon sighs and flops back on his bed. To pass time, but not fall asleep, he takes his phone and checks his social media.

He’s not ready for the photo he sees first on his Instagram feed.

**kmingyuupdates** Photoshoot for Dazed Korea march issue!  
30,254 likes - 7371 comments

Okay, he may be a little ashamed that he still follows that updates account, even after dating Mingyu for a year already, but sometimes it’s being useful. Like, right now.

He swipes right to see the rest of the pictures, and he feels like dying with every single one of them. This close-up on his face? Beautiful. The one where he sits on the stool, his legs all long? Amazing. The one with his arms bare? Lord have mercy.

He goes to his DM’s and chooses the first contact.

  


**leewooji**

YOU

**kmg9797**

Me?

**leewooji**

WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THAT DAZED PHOTOSHOOT

I WOKE UP EARLY MORNING AND WAS ATTACKED

**kmg9797**

Oh so you saw that already

Well, it came out well and I wanted it to be a surprise for you

I meant to send it to you myself but I think I messed up with calculating the timezones :(

**leewooji**

oh :(

but shouldn’t you show me those pics before the official release?? i’m your boyfriend >:(((

**kmg9797**

I already told you I wanted it to be a surprise :((

**leewooji**

>:(

**kmg9797**

Are you free now?

**leewooji**

yeah, for a next few minutes, why?

  


Instead of a reply, there’s a facetime call incoming. He picks it up immediately.

Mingyu smiles at him from the screen of his phone. Of course he has to look perfect, his hair styled, some eye makeup on his face, wearing an elegant flower-patterned shirt. Jihoon compares it to his own reflection in the corner of the screen, hair a total mess, the shirt he slept in wrinkled, looking really tired.

“Hey,” he says softly, as he sits up more comfortably on his bed, legs crossed, hugging a pillow to his chest with his other hand.

“Hi, love.” Jihoon feels himself blushing, and apparently it must be visible, even through the front camera of his phone, and doubtful connection of the hotel wi-fi. Mingyu knows any pet names make Jihoon embarrassed, and that’s why he’s using them so much. Jihoon hates him for it.

“I would be very angry at you, but that photoshoot killed me so I can’t really be.”

Mingyu laughs, his canines showing.

“I knew you’d like it.”

“Am I that predictable?”

Mingyu shrugs.

“Well, one, you’re my boyfriend. Two, you’re my fan. So yeah.”

Jihoon lets out a muffled “hmpf”, as he buries half of his face in the pillow he’s holding.

“Cute.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes and puts the pillow down.

“That’s why I should at least get a preview, as your biggest fan, you know,” he pouts.

“You’re getting one right now,” the younger says and lowers the phone to show him the whole outfit. “Also a preview of the newest Greedilous collection.”

Jihoon shakes his head. “Soon you’ll be modeling for like, Gucci or something.”

“I hope so,” Mingyu says, half-jokingly, but Jihoon knows he’d be more than happy if that happened.

“By the way,” he changes the topic. “You were seriously wearing heels in that photoshoot?”

Mingyu smiles proudly.

“Yes. Nice feeling. Boosts confidence. You should probably try it some time.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes.

“No, thank you, my skates make me tall enough.”

“But you can’t wear them as shoes tho.”

“Who says that? I can do whatever I want!” Jihoon pouts again. “Besides, aren’t you always saying you love my height?”

“I do, I really do, babe.” And here comes the blush again. Fortunately, at that moment Chan comes out of the bathroom.

“You’re talking selfies hyung? Because I don’t wanna break it to you, but you look awful right now.”

“No need to remind me,” Jihoon says, with Mingyu saying “He looks perfect!” at the same time. Chan’s expression changes to honest happiness when he hears the voice coming from Jihoon’s phone, and he jumps on his bed to sit beside him.

“Hello, hyung! Haven’t seen you for a while!” He waves to Mingyu. Jihoon pushes him away.

“Go away, your hair is still wet.”

“And you still need to shower, so what’s the difference?” Chan gets closer again, so the camera captures both of them on the screen.

“What’s the time in Europe now?” Mingyu asks.

“Six in the morning. We just woke up,” Chan answers. “It’s afternoon in Korea, right?”

“Yup,” the model confirms.

“Man, how I wanna go home already,” the youngest complains.

“And I want you to leave my bed.” Jihoon glares at him. Chan rolls his eyes but obediently gets off Jihoon’s bed.

“It was nice to see you hyung!” He shouts, so Mingyu can hear him. “I’m gonna go for breakfast already, don’t take too long,” he says to Jihoon.

“Dry your hair first or you’ll get sick.”

“I won’t.” He leaves the room with a loud slam of the door. Jihoon shakes his head, but Mingyu just laughs it off.

Looking at his boyfriend, Jihoon sighs.

“I miss you,” he says. “Like, a lot.”

“I miss you too, Jihoon.” They dropped the honorifics some time ago already, but he still feels something when Mingyu addresses him by his name. “Two weeks and we’ll see each other again.”

“Too long,” Jihoon complains. “It’s already been months, I keep forgetting how stupidly tall and annoying you are in person.”

“Aw, don’t worry, I’ll make sure to wear those heels from the photoshoot when we meet to be even taller.”

“Wear them and I’m breaking up with you,” Jihoon threatens, but to be honest he wants to see him so bad he wouldn’t even care about it.

For a few seconds they are just looking at each other in silence, Jihoon feeling a little uncomfortable with how bad he looks, but still taking in the view of Mingyu. When the call ends, he’ll only have pictures to look at.

“I gotta go,” he says with a sigh after a while. “Don’t wanna be late for practice.”

“Sure, my break is also ending soon.”

“Bye then.” Jihoon does a small wave with his hand. Mingyu blows him a kiss and he pretends to be disgusted.

“Bye Jihoon, love you.”

“Love you too.”

He hangs up and puts his phone back on the bedside table. Back to reality now. Hopefully, he won’t be too distracted during the practice, he doesn’t want to hurt himself (and others) _again_.

But he thinks he might go to town later to print out those photos.

  


  


_[An excerpt from the interview with Kim Mingyu, “Dazed Korea” March 2019 Issue]_

**Your popularity grew a lot since last year, when netizens started calling you a “lucky fan” of our triple medalist in short track, Lee Jihoon. Are you still friends?**

Of course! We’re really close right now. Well, as close as our schedules let us, because usually we end up on the different sides of the world, and finding time to meet face-to-face is really hard. But thankfully we’re living in the 21st century, so keeping in touch is easy. And we get along really well despite how different we are, so we don’t really have to try too hard to keep this up.

**It seems like you’re best friends.**

Because we are! And that’s really amazing. I hope we will remain as close as we are now for a very long time. Also, I don’t know if it’s a widely known fact, but not only I am a lucky fan! Actually, he’s been a fan of me too, probably even longer. I think that also makes our relationship so special. First and foremost we support each other in what we’re doing.

**What are your goals for the future?**

I’m trying to be happy with what I have now, but I also wish for some deals with big fashion names. I know it won’t just come to me like that, so I’m going to work hard to get it. I want to go up steadily. No matter how long it takes me, it’s alright if I reach that goal later than expected, as long as I enjoy the journey with the people I love.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos always appreciated! you can also support me on [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/ahchoo) ｡(*^▽^*)ゞ


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